Accused claims running into financial problems, asking for KD 50KUWAIT CITY, May 1: A Jordanian couple was arrested for begging money from Kuwaiti shoppers by claiming they are Emirati nationals who needed the money to fill their car with petrol and drive to UAE, reports Al-Rai daily.According to sources, the couple was seen with a child, standing next to their car which had a UAE number plate. The man approached Kuwaiti shoppers and spoke in Emirati dialect when he told them that he ran into some financial problems and asked them for KD 50 to fill his car and return to UAE, promising to return the money back to them as soon he reached UAE. Many of the people he approached were moved by his story and gave him the requested money under the belief that he will return the money after he reached UAE. However, some shoppers became suspicious and informed securitymen about the situation.Securitymen launched investigations during which they kept a tab on the couple. Eventually they discovered that the couple was not Emiratis but Jordanians. The couple was arrested and referred to the concerned authorities for further investigations.In most cases, expatriate beggars are deported after they are caught and convicted. About 22 male and female beggars of Asian and Arab nationalities were arrested and deported in April 2015 after they were caught harassing shoppers for money.Some of them were in violation of the residency law. Some men were even caught wearing abayas, which covered their faces and bodies, and begging money from people who generally have more sympathy towards women in need.One such case was when an expatriate man who was arrested in 2012 after he disguised himself as a woman and begged for money in Salmiya. After he was arrested, he confessed that he used to earn up to KD 25 per day.Another such case was discovered in Saudi Arabia where a man disguised as a woman and begged for five months before he was caught. He revealed that he earned about KD 20 per day and more on Fridays. All member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council – Kuwait, Arabia and the United Arab Emirates – have legally banned beggary. This phenomenon is particularly prevalent during the month of Ramadan when people usually tend to be more charitable. In Saudi Arabia, 85 percent of the beggars are expatriates, majority of whom are of African origin.